Book of Extended summaries ISDA

International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges &
Opportunities during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
Neti, A., Govil, R., and Rao, M. R. 2019. Farmer producer companies in India: Demystifying the
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Thamban, C., Jayasekhar, S., Chandran, K. P. and Rajesh, M. K., 2020. Sustainability of Farmer
Producer Organisations-The case of producer organisations involved in the production and
marketing of ‘neera’in the coconut sector in Kerala, India. J. Plant. Crops. 48(2):150-159.
T6-27P-1236
Identification of Suitable Varieties and Dates of Sowing in Cowpea for
Prakasam District
S. Bharathi, L. Rajesh Chowdary and G. Subba Rao
Agricultural Research Station Darsi, Prakasam, Andhra Pradesh
ars.darsi@angrau.ac.in
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) is one of the versatile leguminous vegetable having much more
protein than other vegetables and it thrives well in warm weather due to its drought-tolerant
capacity. Cowpea is adaptable to hostile environments due to its morphological as well as
biochemical qualities. This crop does not require a high rate of nitrogen fertilization as its roots
have nodules contain bacteria called Rhizobiaum helps to fix nitrogen from the air (Shiringani
and Shimeles, 2011). In India, despite the fact that a large number of varieties/hybrids and agrotechniques
have been developed, but the productivity of cowpea has still not reached the
desired level. Varietal differences of cowpea in terms of growth pattern and duration for seed
maturity are extremely diverse from plant to plant, making breeding programs for cowpea more
complex than other crops. There are diverse cowpea genotypes demanding a site specific
directed management approach and choice of proper sowing window and selection of best
adapted genotype. Suitable time of sowing provides optimum growing conditions with
favourable temperature, light, humidity and rainfall during the growth phase of the crop. This
ultimately decides the selection of varieties for particular or different dates of sowing to
stabilize or to get higher yields.
Methodology
The field trial was conducted for two years during Rabi, 2018-19 and 2019-20 under rainfed
conditions at Agricultural Research Station, Darsi. The experiment was planned with three
cowpea varieties viz., TPT-1, Local brown and Local bold white (Meghana) and four dates of
sowing viz., D 1- 2 nd fortnight of September, D 2- 1 st fortnight of October, D 3- 2 nd fortnight of
October and D4- 1 st fortnight of November. The experiment was laid out in split plot design
with three replications. The main plots were four dates of sowing and sub plots were three
varieties. The observations on plant height, number of branches, number of pods per plant, seed
yield were recorded.
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